Non-Profit Video

In anticipation of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago Women’s Board Gala, we were hired to produce a film that would introduce attendees to what the club does. We wanted the film to connect with the audience on an emotional level. So, we filmed with our DSLR cameras at two of the nonprofit organization’s roughest clubs. We wanted the audience to focus on the kid’s stories. In order to achieve that, our creative approach included interviews shot against a white backdrop. Final post editing included a black and white effect. We also created a closing logo animation where the organization’s symbolic door would swing open to a collage of video images and revealed their logo.

From our client: “As the client, I was amazed at the work Nathan provided. I have worked with him on several projects and he always gets it spot on-from music to narrative to visual. Beautiful and meaningful work as always.”

The Chicago Youth of the Year event is hosted by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago at Navy Pier. The event was emceed by Bill Kurts and speakers included Mayor Rahm Emanual. We filmed with our DSLR video cameras and edited several hours of footage into this highlight video. After the event, we also provided various video clips of the event to chicago news media. Videos of the event and candidate profile video were mailed on thermally-printed DVDs that also contained custom “thank yous” for donors.

Each year, several students are chosen as leaders at their specific club. Those students then go on to compete for the Youth of the Year title. As part of the competition, candidates write several essays. We knew this video was going to profile the candidates in some way. In thinking about the treatment for this particular video, we started reading through those essays and found some very powerful statements. We got to thinking…what if we combine those statements into a story? …and that’s exactly what happened.

Over the course of four days, we traveled to the organization’s clubs and filmed the candidates reciting their statements to the camera. All of their words were combined and presented to a live audience of over 900 people at Navy Pier.